Sleep of Death
by Silmarilz1701
Summary: The Civil War has ended with Steve's death... or so most people think. Turning to two SHIELD traitors from the Civil War, Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes, Fury enlists them in his efforts to rescue the former hero. Exiled from the United States for their status as rebels, the two of them must travel the globe trying to find Captain America. ELIZAVERSE
1. Restlessness

_A/N: Hello all! Welcome to the second sequel to The Changeling! It is indeed an Elizaverse fic, but this first chapter does attempt to introduce any new readers into the universe I've created through my first, 250 chapter fanfic in this series. I suggest reading that one first, but it isn't necessary. Just know a few things: Eliza is a teenage girl (now 19 years old) who was trained by Black Widow and Hawkeye who both became parent figures to her. Any references to a girl named Eliza are to her. When this pics up, it is former Clint/Natasha and former Bucky/Natasha._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs used in this work. If there are any..._

_Thank you for reading, and possibly reviewing!_

_Love,_

_Silz_

* * *

_"To die, to sleep,_  
_To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub,_  
_For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,"_

_Hamlet by William Shakespeare_

* * *

They were sharing a bed tonight, to save money. After all, they only had what Fury had given them before sending them out of the country. They hadn't shared a bed for many, many years and it made Natasha slightly uncomfortable. But she could deal with it. After all, she and Bucky were friends. Nothing more. At least not now. They had been more almost fifteen years ago. But that was well in the past by now.

No, the real reason Natasha couldn't sleep was because she knew that somewhere out there, her close friend Steve Rogers was a captive of HYDRA. She'd been through that before, and she didn't wish it on anyone but her most ruthless opponents. HYDRA was brutally efficient. But Natasha wondered, why Steve? Why Captain America? After all, with the Civil War, not many Americans liked him. So it wouldn't destroy them to have him held captive. The American people saw him no longer as the symbol of freedom, but of opposition to the will of the people.

Steve had opposed the Superhuman Registration Act, and along with his two friends Natasha and Bucky, had conducted covert operations for a few weeks as they tried to resist the law. Others had joined up with them, including a pair of new Inhumans named Kamala and Naja. But in the largest battle between pro-registration and anti-registration forces the Civil War had yet seen, Naja was killed when one of Iron Man's repulser blasts deflected off Cap's shield and killed Naja. Feeling responsible, Steve gave himself up and the next day he'd been marched to court for his crimes.

That's when the unthinkable had happened. While standing to enter the court house, Steve and dozens of other innocent bystanders became the victims of a mass shooting. Steve was the first one shot, but someone soon took out almost all the witnesses. Among the dozens of bodies, Steve's hadn't been found.

But SHIELD hushed it up, deciding that a story about the innocent death of a former Avenger was better than leaving loose ends. Fury began spreading the lie that Captain America had died in the shooting and that SHIELD had removed his body as soon as possible. Agent Hill and Director Fury were the only ones that knew the truth.

For the night after Fury received word about the shooting, he and Maria Hill were having dinner while discussing what to do next. Suddenly a transmission came through, an anonymous transmission, though Fury and Hill immediately knew who it was by the sickly sweet voice.

_"Hello, Director. We have your Avenger."_

That had been all she had said. It had been Sinthea Schmidt, the leader of HYDRA and daughter of the Red Skull. She was a devious, rash, but intelligent young woman who was quite confident in HYDRA's abilities. She had succeeded in capturing four members of the Avengers family, including Pepper Potts and her nephew, Jane Foster, and Darcy Lewis. She held them captive for a long while before the Avengers barely managed to rescue them. The ordeal had left Pepper permanently infertile, as her uterus had been so damaged by guns shots that the SHIELD medical personnel had had to remove it.

The next day, Fury had called Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes in to discuss the matter with them. Letting the two former rebels know that Steve was alive caused not only a great deal of relief, but also of anger. Natasha still couldn't get over the fact that Fury was keeping the other former Avengers in the dark about Steve's real fate. She didn't think it was fair, but she supposed she understood it. But she sure didn't have to like it.

Natasha and Bucky had been given a choice: help SHIELD had have their Persona non grata sentence reduced to three years, or be permanently banned from entering the United States. Eager to help their captive friends, the two former SHIELD agents eagerly agreed and by that time the next week, were on a plane to Russia.

And so here she now was, laying down in a motel bed, tossing and turning as Bucky slept soundly. She didn't know how he did it. Getting up from the bed and slipping on some slippers, Natasha walked out onto the third story balcony of their cheap motel. She felt the crisp cool air of the mid May weather brush up against her skin and breathed in deeply. She looked up at the stars. They were beautiful here, more beautiful than in New York City. Heck, she could actually _see _stars here in Russia.

Natasha sighed. She missed Clint and their other partner, Eliza. To her, Eliza was like a daughter. They had gone through a lot together. And Clint… Clint had been her fiancé. In fact, glancing at her phone's calendar, Natasha realized that tomorrow had been their planned wedding day.

Damn Civil War. Damn it all.

If it hadn't been for the war, she'd have been happily married by this time tomorrow. She'd have been celebrating with all her friends and family. Family. Those were the Avengers to her. But now they were broken, scattered. Tony had locked himself up in his tower after Steve's "death". Clint and Eliza were required to stay in the Triskelion for psychological testing after Steve's "death" before being sent to the West Coast to start up a new Avengers team. Bruce had gone off-grid after moving back to Avengers Tower and eventually leaving. Thor didn't even _know _that Steve was dead, unless Heimdall had told him. After all, during the Civil War he had returned to Asgard with Jane to keep her and her unborn daughter, Finna Rose, safe.

Natasha allowed one single tear to fall on her cheek. That was all she would allow. She had to be strong to find Steve. She had to be in control. She put on the masks she was so confident wearing, the masks that she'd let slip over the last couple years so others could see her true self. The woman who actually had emotions, but knew how to be strong too.

She thought about the mission ahead of them. The long trek across Europe, maybe across the globe, that it would take to find Steve. There were several people she thought to call on, like T'Challa in Wakanda. Maybe he could help them. There was the ex-Shield agent Falcon, Sam Wilson. He was said to be hanging around in the Ukraine area, not too far from them actually. Perhaps he would help.

There were also rumors of an X-Men like group that was stationed in London calling themselves Excalibur. If Natasha and Bucky could seek out their help, they would be even more likely to find Steve. Maybe in their trip around the world, they would make new friends, new allies. People that Natasha would be able to trust.

Trust didn't come easily to her, but she would try.

She would try if it meant saving Steve.


	2. Car Trip

_A/N: Thank you for all of you who are following this story. I hope you like it!_

_ErinKenobi - This certainly will be darker, especially in the beginning as our two main characters cope with the aftermath of the Civil War. With the splitting of relationships, it's especially going to take its toll on Natasha. This chapter gives more insight into this. As for being an OC work, this one probably won't feature Eliza much more than in passing. For her story, check out the other, concurrent sequel, **West Coast Avengers**. That one is a bit more upbeat than this. And don't worry, if you're ever lost because of references to The Changeling, let me know in the comments, or sign up with FFN and send me a PM. I'm happy to clarify, so you don't need to read that other one._

_Miran - Love you! And yep, good 'ole Sin appears here too! Thanks for proofing this!_

* * *

There was no "free breakfast" in the morning like the two friends had grown accustomed to as they worked with the Avengers. Hell, there wasn't even breakfast to be bought. It was a really cheap motel. Bucky and Natasha packed their duffle bags and went down to the first floor lobby. Bucky went to the counter to pay while Nat pulled out her phone that Fury had provided for them. She looked up local food places and settled on McDonalds. No reason to pay more than they needed for food. They had about 5,000 dollars cash at the moment, and the closest of Fury's stashes was in the mountains.

Bucky came over after dishing out the cash for the motel room, "Where to next?"

"McDonalds."

He nodded and they hopped into the car that Fury had rented for them. That had been his last gift for them. After that, they were on their own. But he knew they wouldn't get far without transportation, so he'd provided them that much at least.

Bucky worried about his best friend. He remembered when Pepper and the other civilians had been captured by Sinthea Schmidt, and that hadn't ended well at all. They hadn't even all come out alive; Pepper's nephew had been killed. Sinthea Schmidt was a devious woman who had a lot of resources to her name. Her partner in crime, if partner was the right term, was Crossbones, Brock Rumlow. He was a former SHIELD agent who had left and joined HYDRA.

Bucky and Natasha drove in silence towards the McDonalds and ran through the drive-thru. Natasha drove. After they had their quick meals, they continued on their way. Their first stop? A dock on the Black Sea near the Ukrainian border. An old 'friend' of Natasha's in Russia was working as a fisherman. The team, calling themselves Covert One, were hoping he would have some information for them. After all, he used to sell arms to the Red Room. Maybe he had connections with HYDRA?

"How long's the drive, Nat," Bucky asked her as they drove through a series of hills and valleys on an old, empty road that was paved properly, but obviously seldom used.

Natasha handed him her phone, "Check the map."

Bucky glanced down at it. Five hours, twenty seven minutes left. What was happening to Steve at this moment? Probably something horrible. Maybe he was even being brainwashed like Bucky had been. That would be bad. It had taken Bucky about a month of being surrounded by his closest friends to recover. And he still had missing memories.

Suddenly it began to rain, the pleasant tap tap of the drops bouncing off the window filling the silent air between them. Natasha put the windshield wipers on. They pulsed back and forth, back and forth. The lull of the engine provided good background noise.

"What are you thinking about, Natasha," Bucky asked her after about an hour of complete silence, "Because it's obvious that something's on your mind. Is it just Steve?"

Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes. She supposed that if she had to talk to someone, it might as well be Bucky. They had both survived the Red Room together. They had been lovers once-upon-a-time. They were friends even now, all these years later.

"It's Clint. I didn't say goodbye. Couldn't risk him asking questions," Natasha told him finally.

Bucky nodded, "You miss him."

"Of course I miss him," she snapped, "I missed him every day when we were on opposite sides of the Civil War. I missed him every day we were held by SHIELD at the Triskelion after being captured. He came to visit me, you know. Twice. But I couldn't talk to him. Couldn't show weakness."

"You love him," Bucky stated matter-of-factly, "Of course you miss him."

"Yeah but I realize something now," Natasha shook her head, taking her eyes off the road for a second to lock on to Bucky's, "Love is for children. There's no place for love in this life, Bucky. None. It's a risk. It breeds trouble. It compromises you. So I can't love him."

Bucky looked at her sadly, because he understood. He knew she was right to a degree. Especially now, there was no place for love. There was no way either of them could fall of someone or retain past affiliations. There was only the mission now.

"This friend of yours, down by the Black Sea," Bucky changed the subject after a few minutes of silence where only the constant patter of rain and swipe of the window-wipers was audible, "This friend. Is he reliable?"

"He's not a nice man," Natasha started with that, "Not by any stretch of the imagination. But he owes me a favor. A big one. And I intend to cash in on it."

"What'd you do?"

She smirked, "Back when we took out the Red Room once and for all, the Avengers I mean, I took the time to send him a transmission telling him to cut ties with them and get as far away from them as possible. He'd helped me in the Red Room. Snuck me food and water whenever he came delivering supplies."

"Surprised Ivan never caught you," Bucky looked at her curiously.

"Da," Natasha said, thinking of her life in the Red Room, "It was tricky work. But Petrovitch never found out."

Ivan Petrovitch had not only been Natasha's handler in the Red Room, but also was head of the entire organization for many years. He was a wicked and cruel man who delighted in the torture of his Black Widow "students".

"I don't want to talk about that anymore," Natasha decided quickly.

"Of course," nodded Bucky.

The rain continued for several hours. Bucky was pretty bored out of his mind, and allowed himself to gently be lulled to sleep by the ambient noise around him. Natasha let him sleep, focusing instead on her driving rather than conversation.

By the time they reached the little sea port on the Black Sea, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to wane in the sky. Bucky, woken up by Natasha, glanced at his phone. It was 5:30. They would just have time to check into their hotel and grab some food before finding Alexei Ivanovitch in port. Bucky was sincerely glad that both he and Natasha spoke Russian, because it was highly unlikely that here, anyone spoke English well enough to really communicate. Perks of being brainwashed by Russians, he supposed. And those perks were few and far between.


	3. Gathering Intel

_A/N: Thanks for all the followers and reviewers here! I really appreciate it._

_**RR17** \- Glad you're doing this fic too, as well as WCA. I hope it doesn't disappoint!_

* * *

It was starting to grow dark out as Bucky and Natasha walked down the boardwalk that was along this section of the Black Sea. Each had concealed a pistol and a knife. They had sunglasses on despite the waning light to conceal their eyes. They walked along the wooden planks calmly, holding hands to pose as a pair of lovers out for an evening stroll.

They passed many docks where fishing boats were being moored. The smell of ocean catch was strong, and Natasha and Bucky both had to use a great deal of effort not to look offended by the smell. The salt in the air only added to the pungent odor.

The waves lapped up against the sides of the wooden pillars that held up the docks before continuing on to hit the shoreline. They were small waves, but waves all the same. After all, thought I was land-locked, the Black Sea was quite large.

Finally Natasha spotted the boat she was looking for. In English, the side read, "The Widow." No coincidence there…

She walked up to the two men who were working to tether the boat to the dock.

"I am here to see Alexei," she said in Russian as she smiled seductively.

The two dock workers grinned, "Ivanovitch should be out soon. We're done here. But if you and your boyfriend want to come with us after your talk, we could show you a good time."

Natasha giggled, "Maybe. I'll think about it."

The other dock worker smiled and handed her a slip of paper with two phone numbers saying, "Call us, whenever you're done. We'll be at the Scarlet Shark."

She nodded and waved goodbye as they walked away. Bucky was standing beside her, a smirk on his face. He loved watching Natasha work. She was just too good. It was incredible. He clearly remembered her being the best of the Red Room's agents. It was for that reason she had been made the Black Widow. He had trained her, after all.

Natasha rolled her eyes as soon as she turned back to him, "Wipe that damn smirk off your face, Barnes."

He laughed as they walked up to the boat's door and knocked.

"Just a minute," came a reply in Russian.

Finally a short, stout man of about sixty appeared, his hat hanging slightly over his face and his greying hairs wisping beneath it. He took one look at the two stand there and took of his hat, placing it over his chest.

"My my, look who it is. The Black Widow."

"Keep it down, Alexei," Natasha snapped, "We're undercover."

He smirked, "Well, well, well. Come with me. Let's get to my apartment where we can talk more comfortably."

The trio walked back towards the small city and before too long they were in an old elevator heading up to the third floor where Alexei Ivanovitch's suite was. He fumbled for his keys before unlocking the door and flipping on the lights.

"Now, what do you want girl?"

She closed the door.

"My associate and I," she gestured to Bucky, "Are investigating a HYDRA connection with a death back in the States. We thought you might know where to start."

"Girl, I know the Winder Soldier when I see him. No need to call him your 'associate'," Alexei laughed long and hard, "What I really need to know is, what's in it for me if I hand over that information?"

"I won't hand you over to the Russian government for supplying weapons to the Ukrainians," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Damn it," he cursed, "How could you possibly know about that?!"

She smirked, "So it is true. It was just a hunch. But now I have your recorded confession, Alexei."

Bucky smiled and held up the phone that he'd just recorded the voices with. Alexei snarled at him but finally relented.

"Very well. What would you have me tell you?"

"Where is an operating HYDRA cell and how do I get in contact with them," Natasha demanded.

Alexei Ivanovitch pouted but carefully reached under the table. Natasha freaked, grabbing her gun and pointing it at him.

"What are you getting," she demanded.

He laughed, "A map."

He took out the map and laid it on the table as Nat put away her pistol. It was a map of Europe. Taking out his red pen, he began to draw on it, making notes for them.

"The locations that I'm familiar with are these," Alexei said, "There's a very small base in London. But it's probably too big for you to assault on your own. There's a smaller set up in the Crimea region of Ukraine. HYDRA and KGB-remnants have been instigating fighting there as you know. Then there's a small outpost in southern France. Other than that, I've no idea where HYDRA's hiding. They only tell me the small stuff. That's all I need to know when selling to 'em."

"You know more," Natasha glared, "What else do you know."

Bucky took out his knife and placed it on Ivanovitch's throat threateningly.

Alexei looked around hesitantly, looking around as if the walls had ears.

"I know where their main base is," he nodded slowly, quietly relating to them the important information, "It's in Sokovia."

_Sokovia_. Natasha knew only bits and pieces about the small, eastern European nation. She knew it was a hotbed for civil unrest. The government and military had taken joint control over the country almost fifty years ago. She should've suspected HYDRA would've taken up rest in such a place.

She nodded to Alexei. Bucky dropped the knife that he'd placed on Ivanovitch's throat. He went around front and stood with Natasha. They nodded their thanks to him and Natasha went right up close, whispering in his ear.

"You breathe a word about this to HYDRA, to anyone," she threatened quietly, "I will kill you. Slowly, painfully, until I have you screaming. Is that understood?"

He quickly nodded, taking a deep breath and gulped. Alexei showed them to his door.

"Don't come back, Widow," he said, "You only bring trouble for me."

She smirked, "Don't worry, Alexei. I'll not see you again for a good long while, if everything you told me is accurate."

He shivered and went back inside his suite. Good riddance. Why he ever got himself associated with such crooked people like HYDRA and the Red Room, he didn't know. All he knew was that he had to keep a low profile, probably move out of the area because if Natasha or HYDRA came knocking, he didn't want to be there to hope the door.


	4. What to do Next

_A/N: Almost didn't get a chapter out today, but I did! Yay for me!_

_**Sailorraven**__ \- Sorry :( But that's an important part of the beginning of this. Don't worry though, she won't always be pining for Clint._

_**RR17**__ \- Hope this chapter is just as good!_

_**Blue Phoenix**__ \- I responded via PM, but for the rest of you the answer is probably yes. I'm going to try to start a series of One-shots about Asgard's doings during this time, but it will not be a full story like Sleep of Death or West Coast Avengers. And I'm not promising a start date._

_Tomorrow DAREDEVIL COMES OUT ON NETFLIX!_

_Read, Review, and Smile Always!_

* * *

They reached the hotel they were staying at soon enough. The walk there was pleasant; the air had a gentle breeze. Once they were into the city and away from the fishing district the air took on less of an odor and more of a fragrance. They smelled the scent of burning wood, of food cooking, as they walked down the streets.

Bucky pushed the elevator button for the third floor. Natasha and Bucky were the only ones in the elevator. The slow tick of their watches was the only sound in the hallway as they walked to their room. The click of the unlock sounded as Natasha swiped her card. She opened the door, and they walked inside the dark room.

Natasha sighed as she placed her gun and knife on the bedside table, taking the right side of the bed nearest the window as her own. Bucky, in a similar fashion, sat on his side of bed as well. They began to undress, changing into their bed time clothes. The lights were on low as they rested. Now in their pajamas, they both sat on the bed and Bucky flipped on the TV. He cycled through the channels rather absentmindedly. Natasha lay back in bed, propped up on the pillow while Bucky sat at the edge of the bed. They watched the news for a while.

"So, what's the plan," Bucky sighed.

Natasha remained silent for a moment as she thought about it, "Let's go for the outpost in southern France. I think I know the region he was talking about. There was rumors of a HYDRA outpost of a few members in Andorra, or right outside of the region."

"Andorra," Bucky nodded, "That's that awkward place between France and Spain, right? The thing that isn't quite a country?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "It's in the Pyrenees."

"That's a ways away. Are we buying a plane ticket, or driving? Because driving would take a long time," Bucky pointed out.

"What've we got left," Natasha asked him because Bucky was in charge of the cash.

Bucky took out his locked wallet and undid the combination. He counted the number of euros they had. It added up to about 3,000. Barely enough for two plane tickets. After that they'd be out of money. But driving… the gas money would add up not to mention they weren't exactly on a leisure trip.

"I say we drive. Stop at the Ukraine base along the way, grab more money out of Fury's stashes," Bucky voted.

Natasha sighed, looking at the money, "Yeah, that's unfortunately our best option."

"We leave in the morning?"

"Yeah."

They continued to watch TV for another hour or so into the wee hours of the night. It was around 1 in the morning when they finally turned off the television and Bucky got up to turn off the lights. He switched off the main light, pulled back the covers, and crawled into his side of the bed. Leaning over to their respective sides, both turned off their side-table lamps at the same time just like in the movies.

The sound of cars woke them up the next day, and the sunlight streaming through underneath the shades sparkled across the floor. Natasha got up first and used the bathroom while Bucky laid in bed for a little while longer. Natasha changed while Bucky used the bathroom and the two of them finally went downstairs after about half an hour. In this hotel there was complimentary breakfast, and they enjoyed every last second of it.

Natasha was just finishing her glass of orange juice and Bucky his glass of milk when a young girl ran up to them. She was maybe two years old, barely old enough to walk. She held out her hand to the two spies.

"Me want!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Where's your mom?"

"Me no mom!"

"Where's your dad?"

The girl turned and pointed at a man at the waffle maker. He was looking around for his daughter and eventually his eyes rested on her.

"Come back here, Irina," he said with a frown, "I apologize for her."

"It's fine," Bucky gave him a small smile.

Natasha and Bucky left the table and went back upstairs to finish packing. There wasn't much to pack other than toiletries. Once they had done that, they took their suitcases with them out the door, turned off the light, and left the hotel.

"What do you think is happening to Steve," Bucky muttered as they got into the car, he getting in on the driver's seat.

"I don't know, Bucky. I don't know."

* * *

_Slap._

The sound of skin on skin was heard as a red-headed woman leaned over a man who was restrained. She held her hand out like she was going to slap the man again, but instead let it drop to her side.

"Tell me, Avenger," she said, her voice dripping in disgust, "How long until your friends come rescuing you?"

"They think I'm dead," Steve groaned.

She grinned, "Exactly. So the answer, is never. I can do whatever the fuck I want to you, and no one is going to stop me."

Sinthea drew out a knife and stabbed Steve's bare foot. He shouted through gritted teeth as blood began to pool under his foot. The scent of infection was already ripe in the air as previous injuries on Steve's body had begun to rot. Rats nibbled at his feet each day. Fleas crawled over his body. But HYDRA gave him just enough sustenance to keep him alive.

"This is in retribution for my father's death," Sinthea said through barred teeth, "You will pay, Steven Rogers, you will pay."

He stared at her defiantly. If he hadn't been on his knees, he would've towered above her 5'5'' frame. But he was indeed tied down on his knees, and so was in a vulnerable position. Under his knees were nails which dug into his skin. They caused the skin to bleed almost constantly, though slowly. And the rust was no doubt rubbing off into the open wounds.

Sinthea cackled, leaving her assistant Crossbones to deal with him. She had better things to do, like find out how her other two prisoners were doing.

The Maximoff twins.


	5. Help from Outside

_A/N: Time for Review Responses!_

_**Treefrog** \- glad to see you giving this one a try! I hope it works for you, but if it doesn't, I hope you stick around in West Coast Avengers._

_**Iceglaze** \- Thank you so much hun! That means a lot!_

_**Sailorraven** \- Yep! I can't wait either!_

_**RR17** \- Again, can't wait to see the Maximoffs either._

* * *

After several days of travel, Bucky and Natasha reached a small mountain town. They had been given an address by Fury before they left DC that would work as a safe house and also resupply them with food, money, and clothing if they needed it. And yes, they needed it. Money was hard to come by in their line of work, which was working as spies with no back up or support.

They drove in that evening, the sun just beginning to set behind the trees. It was a small town, and it was rather old. The name they had been given- Sam Jason. Apparently he was a former SHIELD agent who agreed to help Bucky and Nat should they come his way.

Boy were they, especially Natasha, surprised when they knocked on the little wooden door and a familiar man came to the front, yawning.

"Wilson?"

"Agent Romanoff," he grinned, "Come on in, you two!"

Natasha smiled and went inside, followed by Bucky Barnes. They were surprised to find this "Sam Jason" was actually Sam Wilson, a friend of Natasha's from back during the fight with HYDRA and Clint's brother. He had been in Poland during the initial attack.

"What can I do for you," he smiled, sitting down at the table while they took two other chairs.

He closed the window shutters to keep unwanted viewers and eavesdroppers from listening in or watching them. Natasha sighed.

"You know of Steve's death, yeah," she asked him.

Sam nodded sadly, "That was a blow to America."

"Well, we're on a mission related to his death, and we need a resupply. We also have reason to believe that this town has-"

"-HYDRA, yeah I know."

Bucky and Nat looked at him in surprise, "And yet you set up shop here?"

Sam nodded with a smirk, "Fury needed someone to keep an eye on them!"

"Well," Bucky said, "We need to end their operations."

"Dude, I'm your man," Sam said with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Been wanting to put a stop to those sons of bitches since I came here!"

"Good," they all agreed.

Sam went to the counter of his kitchen and grabbed some papers. Coming back over, he laid them down on the table and revealed them to be maps of the area. Sam took out a red pen and began to make marks on it.

"These here," he pointed to two houses he'd marked with little red X's, "These here are HYDRA homes. They operate out of this one."

They all looked at the first of the two. It looked rather large on the map, at least in comparison to the other houses around it. Sam had some notes in pencil next to it. They said something about six operatives, good deal of explosives, and large stockpile of guns.

"So they're well-armed?"

"Yes sir," Sam nodded, "To the teeth."

"Great," Natasha sighed as she leaned back in her chair and tried to decide what to do next.

"We have two options, as I read it," Bucky said to her, "Either we take the supplies and go on our merry way. After all, there's very little chance that our mission would lead here in the end. Or, we stick around and take down this tiny section of HYDRA."

Natasha groaned inwardly. Two bad choices, but a choice she had to make.

"Let me think it over."

Sam told them that they were welcome to stay the night, and that they could have the guest room that was down the hall. He took them there and they thanked him. The quarters would be cramped, but that was fine with them. They'd begun getting used to sleeping together over this past week and a half.

The night was cool and the walls were less than spectacular about keeping the heat in and the chill out. But Natasha was fine. She was cold-blooded, some lower-ranking SHIELD officers had said. She could withstand the chill easily and without complaint.

Bucky too was good at concealing his chilly temperature. He wished it was warmer, but after spending years in frigid Russia, he was used to the weather. To them, this was very, very mild. They'd put up with much worse over the years.

As Bucky fell asleep to the lull of the creaky heater, Natasha lay awake debating her options. There were, in fact, two choices. Either they leave with supplies and ignore the small-fry HYDRA operations here, or risk exposing themselves as they take down that HYDRA threat. Which was the lesser of two evils? She wasn't sure yet.

She snuck out of bed and tiptoed into the kitchen/living room combination, sitting down at the couch. To her surprise, Sam Wilson came out of his bedroom not too long after and sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Want something to drink," he asked her after a minute, "Water, milk, coffee?"

"Milk would be nice," she agreed.

"Coming right up!"

Sam jumped up and went over into the kitchen. He opened the fridge quietly so as not to wake Bucky Barnes. Pouring two glasses of milk, one for Natasha and one for himself, he returned to the couch and handed one to the former SHIELD spy and assassin. He took a sip of his drink while looking at Natasha's face and trying to read it. However soon realizing this was an impossible feat, he put down his cup and turned to her more directly.

"What_ is_ your mission?"

Natasha looked at him suspiciously, "Not sure I can tell you."

"Oh come on, help a guy out," Sam shrugged, "What harm could it do?"

"Very well," but still she hesitated, "Steve Rogers isn't dead. He was kidnapped."

Sam looked at her in surprise, before finishing her sentence, "By HYDRA?"

"Yes," Natasha nodded, "By HYDRA. And our job is to take him back."

"So the story is all a fake," Sam grinned at her, "Well yippee, there still may be hope yet."

"Maybe," Natasha shrugged, "But now I've got to decide what to do next."


	6. Leaving and Teasing

_A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I got really busy with West Coast Avengers and the AMAZING collab I am a part of. It's Marvel/Hunger Games. Check it out via my profile, and PLEASE leave reviews for the amazing 23 other authors that are taking part._

_Again, any and all references to Eliza and/or The Warren are references to The Changeling and/or other Elizaverse fics. For further clarification, post the question in a review or feel free to contact me._

_AGE OF ULTRON. SO GOOD. MUCH LOVE._

* * *

"I decided we're going to leave this HYDRA outpost alone," Natasha told them at breakfast the next morning.

She'd thought long and hard about the decision the previous night into that morning. She'd weighed the pros and cons, and in the end decided it was too dangerous not only for them, but for Steve, for them to attack this little HYDRA operation. After all, as soon as their mission was made known to HYDRA, it was probably off with his head for Steve. Sinthea Schmidt, who they assumed was still in charge, was one crazy woman. Crazy, but maniacal and obviously sneaky. Twice now it was that she'd done serious damage to the Avengers.

"You aren't gonna take it out," Sam asked in surprise.

Natasha shook her head, "Could jeopardize the mission. And the mission has to come first."

Bucky agreed, "Once we get Steve back to safety, we'll come help you deal with this place, Sam."

Sam shrugged, "Whatever you think will make the mission easier. You have the supplies, right? I put provisions, clothes, and money outside your door last night."

Bucky looked at their packed backpacks that sat along the wall. Indeed, Sam had filled them with money and food from the safe house and somehow, had washed their clothes overnight. Natasha, too, looked over.

"Thanks," Bucky nodded, "We got it."

"Have you any idea where to head next?"

"Originally I thought we'd make towards the base in Andorra," Natasha sighed, "But now I want to try something different. We're going to make for England. I want to contact the Excalibur group there and see what they know about HYDRA's movements. If Excalibur is a real organization, that is."

"Excalibur," Sam nodded, "That's the English X-Men type group, correct?"

"Something like that," agreed Natasha.

* * *

"Psss Pietro! Pietro!"

"Wanda?"

Wanda Maximoff lay still on her cot that was up against the side of her cinder block cell. A small hole in the wall reached all the way through and it made whispering possible. For cell it was. The mutant twins had been captured by HYDRA several days ago when they had been visiting their home country of Sokovia. Pietro, Wanda's brother, was in the cell next door.

"Pietro, how are you holding up?"

Pietro sighed. If he was to tell her the truth, he'd have to say his entire body hurt. They were running tests on him morning and night, trying to figure out how his powers worked. HYDRA knew he was a mutant, and they'd gotten their hands on several of those in the past, but each time they tried to figure out what made mutants mutants, the subject died. So, on to a new one.

"I'm a fine," he whispered back.

"No you are not," Wanda glared at the wall.

Pietro rolled his eyes, "Quit worrying, Wanda. We'll be fine."

Suddenly the doors opened from down the hall and the twins went back to pretending to sleep. Both kept their eyes slightly open and towards the front of their cells to see who was coming. It turned out it was the other prisoner. The man known as Captain America.

Wanda and Pietro knew of him of course. After all, who didn't? The Avengers were world renowned, sometimes gladly and sometimes with disgust. Neither Maximoff twin liked the Avengers, but Wanda at least did not like seeing Captain America (the Avenger she disliked the least) getting tortured the way he was. Every day, the HYDRA leader Sinthea Schmidt would come and take Captain America away to a cell where she'd beat him. Then each night he'd be returned to the cell next to Pietro's.

If it hadn't been for the inhibiter she was forced to wear, Wanda would've broken them all out the minute they'd been captured. But alas, the collar around her neck would not allow that. Despite all the attempts to dismantle it, it had only resulted in her electrocuting herself multiple times.

Soon enough the HYDRA goon had left the three prisoners alone again.

"Hey Super-soldier," Pietro teased the beaten man. "Do you still feel high and mighty now? Still think you Americans are better than us Sokovians?!"

"Pietro," Wanda sighed, "Let him be for now. He needs rest."

Pietro glared at the wall separating him and Steve. But eventually he relented, sitting back down as he had begun to get dizzy. Most of the testing had been done on Pietro, leaving Wanda for when he died. Because he would die, sooner or later, and he knew that. It was just a matter of time.

* * *

"Alright, this is goodbye, Sam. If we need your help, we'll let you know," Bucky said, shaking the man's hand as they stood in the doorway of his little house.

"You better, man," Sam grinned, "You two keep safe. Don't get yourselves killed!"

"We'll try," Natasha smiled.

The two ex-SHIELD agents turned and went to where they'd parked their car. Hoping inside, Bucky driving this time, Natasha pulled out her phone and googled the nearest airport. Now that they had a lot more money, they could afford two plane tickets to England with change to spare. And after all, there was another safe house where they were going. Clint had established it awhile back. It was in the place called The Warren by its inhabitants.

Only Clint had been in contact with the inhabitants of London's Warren. After all, it's where he'd picked Eliza White up four years ago, almost five now. Of course, it was a new iteration of street kids who manned the Warren, and though Fury very much hated the idea of allowing street rats the ability to have a safe house, Clint had convinced him that it was necessary to keep them safe and well fed. Plus, it doubled as a safe house for SHIELD agents. That was certainly an added bonus.

So that's where Natasha and Bucky were headed. They'd set up shop in the old abandoned warehouse that was called the Warren, they'd search for the Excalibur team, and they'd hopefully make contact with new allies to help them take down the HYDRA base in Sokovia.


	7. The Warren

_A/N: So happy! I finished all my exams today and now all that's left is graduation. Then I'm done with High School forever! To celebrate, here's a little chapter for you guys! All references to The Warren/Eliza are from In The Beginning and The Changeling._

* * *

"Please put your tray tables in an upright and locked position."

Natasha did as the flight attendant announced over the airplane. They were about to land in London. The airline, Marvel Air, was just a small airline, but it was one of the few planes that flew out of the Ukrainian airport they'd found. And anyways, it got them where they were going which was London.

She sat back and looked around cautiously. She felt vulnerable: all her firearms and weapons were stowed in the checked luggage. She was fortunate that Fury had provided her and Bucky with passes on the passports to allow even that.

_Speaking of Bucky_, she thought, looking over at the man sitting next to her, _Time for him to wake up._

Natasha nudged her companion and he startled, glancing around. Fortunately it was just the two of them in their row. Nevertheless, the people across the aisle glanced over and looked at him like he was crazy, including a little child. Bucky smiled at her. Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes at Bucky Barnes.

"Great job, genius," was all she said quietly.

Bucky rolled his eyes in turn and snorted.

By the time they left the airport, it was growing late. It was almost late May, and the weather was still a little chilly. That actually played to their advantage as it meant Bucky looked natural wearing long sleeves to hide his metal arm. Natasha and Bucky wore black and red hoodies respectively, and as they walked out of the airport to rent a car, they flipped their hoods up almost simultaneously. It was actually quite comical.

They received their temporary car's keys quickly enough and, pulling their luggage behind them, found in the lot. They packed up their black car and hopped in the front. Bucky said he'd drive.

And proceeded to get in on the left side.

Natasha simply laughed, "They drive on the right, idiot."

"Maybe you should drive," Bucky sighed, "I'm too tired for this. And anyways, I just realized I don't know where the Warren is!"

"I only have coordinates. Let's find out where they are," Natasha nodded as they sat in the car and fiddled with their phones to search for the coordinates and get an address.

Finally they got the address and Natasha drove out onto London's streets. The Warren was an abandoned warehouse towards the outskirts of the city. It was large, according to what Clint had told Natasha a long time ago, so they shouldn't have too much trouble finding it.

"What exactly IS the Warren," Bucky asked as they drove with the radio off and the windows up.

He was loading his handgun and checking the sharpness of his knife. He looked over at Natasha who was driving and waited for her response.

"When Eliza was younger," Natasha began, "She lived on the streets of London with a gang of children between the ages of four and fourteen. They raided for food, protected each other, that sort of thing. Eliza was their leader. When she was picked up, almost all her child friends were as well. All but two older boys. They began carrying on her legacy by protecting younger street children. When two of the rescued children became SHIELD agents in training, they asked about the place and Clint promised to turn it into a SHIELD outpost to further protect the children."

"So it's a bunch of children," Bucky looked at her skeptically.

She nodded, "But these are regular kids. According to Clint, some are ruthless. They'll do anything to protect their companions. So it's important they know we come as SHIELD representatives."

"Just how dangerous can a bunch of children be," Bucky looked at her smugly.

Natasha shrugged, "I've heard different things. But they might have mutant kids, who knows? All _I _know is what Clint's told me."

Bucky was silent after this and they drove quietly for another half-hour. Eventually they turned off into a decaying area of the city where old factory buildings stood. Natasha looked at her GPS. The building was about a block down the road.

"This is where we ditch the car," she told Bucky.

They hopped out, grabbing their weapons and their old SHIELD badges only. They'd come back for the luggage if all went well.

They crept along in the shadows of the buildings. The sun was pretty far down in the sky and deep shadows were cast across the alley way. But what little sun was left caught some of Natasha's red hair and lit it like flames. But soon, she was back in the shade. Finally they reached a large, chain link fence. It was locked.

"We know you're in there," Natasha said calmly, "We come in peace. We come from SHIELD."

Several moments of nothing passed and Natasha began to wonder if they got the address right when finally a face peaked out from behind some large, green metal doors. It was a girl, maybe fifteen years old. She was tall and lanky with light brown hair and hazel green eyes that shone in the dying sunlight.

"SHIELD?" she asked, her thick British accent eerily familiar to Eliza's now softened one.

"Yes. I'm Natasha Romanoff and this is Bucky Barnes. We need a place to lay low in London while we search for the Excalibur members."

The girl narrowed her eyes, "Slide all your weapons under the fence. Then we'll let you in."

Natasha looked around for others and finally she found what she was looking for. Two young boys stood in high windows with what appeared to be small pistols in each of their hands. _How'd they manage to get those_, she wondered.

"Do as she said," she nodded to Bucky.

Natasha undid her belt which contained her pistols and other handguns. She reached into her boot and pulled out her two knives. Finally she undid her Widow's Bite wristlets. Bucky followed suit. Together, they shoved everything under the fence.

The girl nodded in approval. She stepped out from behind the metal doors and gathered up the weapons, handing them to a boy of no older than seven who ran up to help her.

"Stow those in the chest for now," the girl ordered as she pulled out what looked like a key from her ragged pant pocket.

She walked forward and undid the fence lock, letting the two ex-SHIELD agents inside. Closing it quickly behind them, she locked it up again.

"Come, follow me," she ordered.

They followed the tall teenager inside the old warehouse and found it was actually quite well furnished in the back, behind the old storage crates. They were told to sit down on some crates and the girl whistled loudly. Suddenly six or seven children rushed from hiding and stood behind her.

"I'm Sophia Gray," the first girl told them, "Welcome to the Warren."


	8. Terms and Conditions

_A/N: I love all reviews, but Guest, please include something other than a demand for an update. I update when I can, don't worry. No amount of requests for updating will change when it comes out :) But, if you have something else to say in a review, PLEASE, do! I really appreciate it!_

* * *

"Thanks for letting us in," Natasha nodded, "As I introduced us earlier, we are Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes. We come from SHIELD."

Sophia looked at them skeptically, "Really. How strange. Because last I checked, SHIELD had abandoned you and thrown you out of the country? You are the traitorous Avengers, aren't you?"

Natasha didn't let it phase her. She nodded and continued.

"It's true," Natasha nodded, "But Fury is trusting us with a secret mission. One of upmost importance."

"And that is," Sophia prompted.

"We need to rescue Steve Rogers from HYDRA," Natasha told the children.

Sophia looked visibly startled at the news.

"But he was killed! Everyone knows that. Are you trying to trick us, thinking we're easy targets because we're children?!"

Natasha shook her head, "I know it sounds hard to believe. But we need a place to lie low while we get in contact with Excalibur."

Sophia told two of the older boys to keep their guns trained on the two ex-Avengers while she consulted with the others. If Natasha or Bucky tried to lunge for the weapons chest, it was shoot first ask questions later.

Sophia pulled aside some kids that were probably between the ages of ten and fifteen. They were all heights and skin colors, but all of them were relatively skinny. It might be a safe-house for SHIELD agents, but that didn't mean they got much in the way of food. It just meant there was sometimes extra protection when SHIELD agents showed up.

"Do we believe them," Sophia whispered from where she and her little posse sat near the corner.

A girl with dark skin and dark hair who was almost as tall as Sophia looked back at the two ex-Avengers before speaking, "It's rather fishy, if you ask me."

"But what if there is a chance that Steve Rogers is alive," a young boy of about ten with pale skin and blonde hair pointed out, "We owe it to Eliza to help them!"

"Eliza," Sophia laughed softly, "She doesn't care what we do. After all, she doesn't even check in with us! We don't owe her anything."

"You're wrong, Sophia," a tall Asian boy shook his head, "We do owe her. She started this group all those years ago. Without her, there would be no protection for street children."

Sophia sighed, "Fine. So, we help them?"

"I think it's our best bet," another girl nodded.

Sophia turned to look back at the two adults who sat waiting for them to return. They looked pleasant enough, she supposed. But it was still too risky to allow them to have their weapons back. No, they'd have to do without weapons. She nodded to the others and they broke apart, heading back over to where Natasha and Bucky sat waiting.

"Very well," Sophia said, nodding to the two children holding guns, "You can put those down John, Robin."

The two boys put the guns down as she had asked them to do.

Sophia turned back to Natasha and Bucky, "We know of the location of an Excalibur member. We are willing to help you, but you will remain unarmed while you are with us. You can take weapons out with you onto the streets but once you set foot in here, they're in our hands. Is that clear?"

Bucky found it somewhat annoying that this young girl was dictating to them what they could and could not do. But he held his tongue for Nat's sake, as she seemed to be going along with it. It was all very strange to him: street kids that had a gang and ran a safe-house for SHIELD agents? Very strange indeed. But he'd go along with it.

"Where is this Excalibur member?"

"Pete Wisdom lives at 221B Baker Street. He is a mutant with the ability to absorb solar radiation and release it from his fingers in hot knives. He is a former member of the British Secret Service," Sophia told them, "If you wish to get to know the Excalibur group, I would start with him."

"Thank you. Is there a place we could sleep," Natasha asked her.

Sophia nodded, "Georgie, show them where the SHIELD agents stay."

A young boy with blonde hair and green eyes came over from where he'd been sitting on a large crate. He smiled at the two adults and beckoned to them.

"Over here!"

They went with the boy and followed him to the back of the warehouse. Suddenly they noticed a door at the back that had looked inconspicuous but now Bucky and Natasha noted it had a large padlock on it. Georgie drew out a key from his pocket and unlocked the padlock. They went through the door and Georgie flipped on a light. In the room there was a tile floor.

Georgie pressed a button on the wall and four of the tiles lowered down. Steps were formed and they walked down into the depths of the warehouse. At the bottom of the steps they found a large room with six beds and a small fridge. A bathroom was off this main room.

"We'll get you up at 5 tomorrow morning," Georgie told them, "Sleep well!"

He went back up the steps and closed the tile trap door. Bucky and Natasha stretched their arms and legs in the space provided. They'd sat in an airplane and a car for the majority of the day, after all, and though they felt bare without their weapons, it was nice to finally have some space.

"Don't get your hopes up," Natasha sighed though, "These are SHIELD regulation beds. Meaning they're crap. Probably not even as good as those cheap motels we've been staying at."

"Great," Bucky groaned.

Still, it was better than what Steve was going through.

* * *

Everything hurt. His feet and knees especially. Fortunately, he had not been taken away for torture today. They probably realized that if they wanted to keep him alive, they couldn't keep attacking him every day. But Steve wondered what was happening to the two other prisoners.

Next door to him was a young man with silvery-white hair and blue eyes. He seemed to speak very fast and think very fast. Steve wondered why he was in here. If he'd heard aright, he thought this man's name was Pietro. His sister, if Steve guessed correctly, was in the cell on the other side of Pietro.

Wanda was her name. She had brown hair and light brown hazel eyes. Steve still couldn't figure out why either of them was in here. But then suddenly something clicked.

A long time ago, when he'd been at the X-Mansion, he'd overheard some people talking about twins who were siblings to the newest X-Man Polaris. Twins named Pietro and Wanda. That must mean that these two were mutants!

That would also explain the odd metal collars both siblings were wearing. It must inhibit their powers. Steve realized that Sinthea Schmidt must be experimenting on them. Why else would they come back each day with new stitches, unlike the open wounds that Steve so often had?

It was all making sense now.

What didn't make sense to Steve was the hatred Pietro seemed to hold for him. Pietro would yell and tease Steve each time he returned to his cell after a beating. If it wasn't for his level-headed sister, he would have carried on for much longer than the usual thirty second shout he did. There was so much anger there, so much resentment.

Steve wondered why.


End file.
